In cassette loading devices of cassette recording/reproducing apparatus, a front loading system is widely used. The front loading system is classified into two types, namely a slot-in type and a tray type to which this invention pertains.
Cassette loading devices of the tray type are known as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos. 61-182661 and 1-96859, which include a cassette tray adapted to be ejected from the front panel of a recording/reproducing apparatus for attachment/detachment of a cassette relative to a holder of the cassette tray.
The cassette loading device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 61-182261, as reillustrated here in FIGS. 25 and 26, is constructed to be used with a single cassette and includes a cassette tray 4 adapted to be ejected from the front panel 2 of a recording/reproducing apparatus 1 for setting or removing a cassette 3. The cassette tray 4 has a holder 5 and left and right side walls recessed as at 4a, 4b. For accepting a cassette 3, the cassette tray 4 is ejected from the front panel 2 of the recording/reproducing apparatus 1 and while keeping this condition, the cassette 3 while being gripped at its opposite sides by user's fingers is placed down onto the holder 5. In this instance, the cutout recesses 4a, 4b receive the user's fingers. To remove the cassette 3, the cassette 3 is gripped by the user's fingers received in the recesses 4a, 4b from the opposite directions and then is pulled out upwardly away from the holder 5.
The cassette loading device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 1-96859, as reillustrated here in FIG. 27, is so designed as to accommodate two different cassettes having different shapes and configurations. In the illustrated embodiment, the cassette loading device is used with a standard cassette 3A and a compact cassette 3B which is smaller in size than the standard cassette 3A. A cassette tray 4 of the cassette loading device is ejected from the front panel of a recording/reproducing apparatus and then a standard cassette 3A or a compact cassette 3B is set on a holder 5 of the cassette tray 4. Attachment/detachment of the standard cassette 3A relative to the cassette tray 4 is achieved in the same manner as described above. For attachment of the compact cassette 3B, the holder 5 of the cassette tray 4 has a recess 6 having a shape complementary in contour to the shape of the bottom of the compact cassette 3B. The compact cassette 3b is retained in the recess 6 against displacement.
The known cassette loading devices are however defective from the manipulative point of view, as described below.
For attachment and detachment of a cassette relative to the cassette tray ejected from the recording/reproducing apparatus, the cassette is moved vertically toward and away from the cassette tray while the cassette is being kept in a horizontal posture by gripping at its opposite sides with the user's fingers. The cassette attaching/detaching operation needs care and cannot be performed by one hand of the operator. The cassette loading device is, therefore, uneasy to handle. The front panel of the recording/reproducing apparatus is likely to hinder smooth attachment and detachment of the cassette relative to the cassette tray. Furthermore, since the recess provided for holding a compact cassette in the cassette tray is relatively shallow and hence insufficient to provide a positive hold for the compact cassette. The compact cassette is likely to be displaced off the recess when subjected to impact forces applied from the outside of the recording/reproducing apparatus or during the movement of the cassette tray. Accurate positioning of the compact cassette to a fixed recording/playback position cannot, therefore, be performed. The cassette tray having the recess is thicker than a cassette without the recess and hence a flat recording/reproducing apparatus is difficult to obtain.